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Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Don Farmer and Chris Curle - An Inside Look at TV News

If you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of
network news, you won’t want to miss a new novel by two Marco Island authors. Deadly News by Don Farmer and Chris
Curle gives readers what Farmer calls “a fun look into a strange vocation.”
There are few people more knowledgeable about the subject than this
husband-wife team. Between the two of them, they have logged over 99 years in
the news business.

Farmer and Curle’s relationship started in a newsroom. In
1970, Curle was working as a news anchor/reporter for an ABC affiliate in Houston.
Farmer, the southern bureau chief for ABC news, was in Houston on assignment.
The two were covering an incident of social unrest when Farmer first saw Curle.
“I asked her what she was doing after the riot,” he says. “I thought that was
the best pick-up line ever.” It must have been – they were married two years
later.

The newlyweds moved to Europe where they covered
international news, then returned to the states where Farmer covered several
presidential campaigns and spent five years as a congressional correspondent.
When media mogul Ted Turner created CNN, he hired Farmer and Curle as two of
his first on-air news anchors. Here they had the unique opportunity to
interview some of the biggest names in politics, sports and entertainment. The
two had a close working relationship in more ways than one. According to
Farmer, “We both had desks in an office the size of a phone booth.” Following
their stint at CNN, Farmer and Curle anchored the news for Atlanta’s WSB-TV.

In the mid-1990s, Farmer decided to try his hand at writing
a book. “My frat brother was Skip Caray, the legendary sportscaster for the
Atlanta Braves. We were talking about some of our crazy experiences, and I told
Skip I thought we should write a book about them.” The result was Roomies – Tales from the Worlds of TV News
and Sports, a book co-authored by Farmer and Caray.

After the publication of Roomies,
Farmer thought he’d take a stab at fiction. “I enjoy collecting bizarre
happenings and personal quirkiness,” he says. He began compiling funny stories
about some of the people he’d known and worked with. “After spending my life
writing non-fiction, it was liberating to be able to write something I could
just make up,” he explains. The result was Deadly
News, a book Farmer describes as “a humorous satire, with murder and
mayhem, set in the news business.” Set in Atlanta and southwest Florida, the
story centers around the murder of a movie star who is thrown off a 46th
floor balcony, landing on the tower of a TV news truck. With enough thrills and
drama to keep readers riveted, the novel’s dark humor will have them laughing
as they flip the pages. Fox News host Greta Van Susteren says the story
“…cleverly weaves together the fast-paced worlds of media and crime.” Katie
Couric praises Deadly News as “…an
explosive, exciting thriller.”

Farmer credits his wife and co-author with the novel’s
success. While Curle calls herself “the
back-up singer,” Farmer says he couldn’t have written the book without her.
“She has so much more patience than I do,” he says. Farmer hopes Deadly
News will give readers an insider’s look at the TV news business and leave
them wanting more. “If you’ve ever watched a news program and wanted to throw
something at the TV,” he says, “this is the book for you.”

Farmer and Curle have another murder-thriller in the works.
Titled Open Season, most of the action
takes place in the Naples, Florida area, Atlanta, Georgia and the North Georgia
Mountains. When eco-extremists kidnap a star TV news anchorwoman as she leaves
an Atlanta restaurant, a media frenzy erupts nationwide. She’s threatened with
death unless her captors’ outrageous ransom demands are met. The man behind the
kidnapping is a flashy, low-life killer who passes as a wealthy man-about-town.
The kidnapping of anchorwoman Nikki Z is part of a larger scheme, a world-wide
crime ring and a tale of strong women who decide to do something about it.For more information, visit the authors' website at www.donfarmer.com

1 comment:

JACQUELINE

Based on a true story, "Jacqueline" is a tale of family, faith, unusual friendships, and the resiliency of the human spirit set against the backdrop of occupied Rennes in 1944. With the drama of fiction and the authenticity of personal history, "Jacqueline" is both a story about family and a family's story.

PROJECT JUNE BUG

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About Me

I'm currently a columnist for The Island Reporter, a publication serving the South Gulf Beaches in St. Petersburg, Florida. My Florida Authors series features articles based on exclusive interviews with some of the state’s best writers. My “Pride & Joy” column
profiles individuals who give back to their communities through volunteerism.
I'm also the author of two novels."Project June Bug" is the story of a young teacher’s efforts to help a student with ADHD. It has received 12 awards, including Premier Book Awards “2009 Book of the Year.” My latest novel, "Jacqueline,"(published by Anaiah Press) is a middle grade historical based on an experience my dad, a WWII veteran, had while stationed in France shortly after D-day. Four of my stories have appeared in "Chicken Soup for the Soul" editions.
I live on Treasure Island (yes, it's as beautiful as it sounds), with my husband and two rather noisy macaws. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, walking on the beach, and visiting family in New Jersey, where I'm the proud "Grammy" of six beautiful grandchildren (with the pictures to prove it!)